Parallel Cable Exercise Device

ABSTRACT

A cable-based exercise system. A chassis is provided to house the actuators. A force plate sits on top of this chassis. A bar configured for gripping by a user is provided. The bar has a first end and a second end. Two or more cables are connected to each end of the bar. Each cable connects an end of the bar to a drive motor. Each drive motor can be independently controlled. A central processor is preferably provided to receive sensory inputs and control the drive motors.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This non-provisional patent application claims the benefit of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/410,647. The parent application was filedon May 13, 2019 and listed the same inventors.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable

MICROFICHE APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention pertains to the field of exercise equipment. Morespecifically, the invention comprises a cable-actuated force applicationsystem that can be used to mimic traditional free weights and provideother functionality as well.

2. Description of the Related Art

Many different types of exercise devices are known. The use of freeweights for strength and cardiovascular training is particularlybeneficial because the user must generally control six degrees offreedom for the weight being lifted. This fact means that many smallermuscles must be used to stabilize the position of the weight in additionto the muscles the particular exercise is designed to employ. Freeweights also present risk, however. A user may accidentally drop a freeweight. Worse, the free weight may create a situation where the user'sbalance is lost and the descent to the ground is exacerbated by theaccelerating weight.

It would be desirable to provide a free weight for exercise where thepresence of the weight could be eliminated when a dangerous situation isdetected (such as a loss of balance). Of course, one cannot simplyswitch off the mass of a free weight. One advantage of the presentinvention is its ability to mimic the forces created by moving a freeweight while largely eliminating the risk a free weight creates. Thepresent invention provides other advantages as well.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises a cable-based exercise system. A chassisis provided to house the actuators. A force plate sits on top of thischassis. A bar configured for gripping by a user is provided. The barhas a first end and a second end. Two or more cables are connected toeach end of the bar. Each cable connects an end of the bar to a drivemotor. Each drive motor can be independently controlled. A centralprocessor is preferably provided to receive sensory inputs and controlthe drive motors.

In use, a user stands on the force plate and applies force to the bar(such as curling the bar or lifting the bar). The reactive forces of theuser's feet on the force plate are preferably measured and sent to theprocessor. The angular position of each drive motor is preferably alsomeasured and sent to the processor. The processor controls the torqueand position for each drive motor in order to create a desired exerciseconfiguration for the bar (via tensile forces applied through thecables). This control can be provided in a dynamic situation where thebar is moving. The processor is also preferably configured to detectabnormal situations such as a loss of the user's balance. In such asituation the controller can remove the forces applied to the bar.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, showing a user employing the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view, showing the force plate and an exemplary locationfor a set of load cells.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view, showing a simplified depiction of a controlsystem.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view, showing the creation of a defined forceobject.

REFERENCE NUMERALS IN THE DRAWINGS

-   -   10 cable driven exercise device    -   12 chassis    -   14 force plate    -   16 user    -   18 bar    -   20 cable anchor    -   21 anchor plate    -   22 left front cable    -   24 left rear cable    -   26 left lateral cable    -   28 right front cable    -   30 right lateral cable    -   32 right rear cable    -   34 left front motor    -   36 left lateral motor    -   38 left rear motor    -   40 right front motor    -   42 right lateral motor    -   44 right rear motor    -   46 load cell    -   48 processor    -   50 controller    -   52 power supply    -   54 defined force object

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the inventive device.Chassis 12 provides both a structural base and a housing for many othercomponents. Force plate 14 sits on top of chassis 12. User 16 stands ontop of force plate 14 while using the device. Bar 18 is configured to begrasped by the user during the operation of the device. Ordinarily bar18 will be moved through a desired range of positions. However, theinventive device is also capable of providing useful forces while thebar remains stationary.

The various components will now be described with respect to theorientation of the user shown in FIG. 1. Directional terms such as left,right, front, and rear should not be viewed as limiting. Rather, theyare properly viewed as a convenient frame of reference from the vantagepoint of user 16.

Bar 18 has a left end and a right end. An anchor plate 21 is provided onboth ends. This optional anchor plate is provided for the convenientattachment of cable anchors 20. As an example, the upper end of leftfront cable 22 is attached to the left anchor plate. The lower end ofthe same left front cable is attached to a drum connected to left frontmotor 34. The drum on left front motor 34 is preferably able toprecisely control the tension on left front cable 22 and to preciselycontrol the distance from the point where the cable departs the drum tothe left anchor plate 21 (the linear extension of left front cable 22).As depicted in FIG. 1, all the motors are attached to chassis 12 and thecables leading from each motor pass through openings in the chassis.Fairlead devices may also be provided to minimize frictional engagementbetween the cables and other components.

Left rear cable 24 connects between the left anchor plate 21 and a drummounted on left rear motor 38. As for the left front motor, left rearmotor 38 is preferably able to precisely control both the tension onleft rear cable 24 and the linear extension of left rear cable 24.

Similar cable and drive systems are present on the right end of bar 18.Right front cable 28 connects between the right anchor plate 21 and adrum mounted on right front motor 40. Right rear cable 32 connectsbetween the right anchor plate and a drum mounted on right rear motor44.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the presence of cables 22,24, 28, 32 and motors 34, 38, 42, 44 allow a stable and controlledapplication of force to bar 18. However, those skilled in the art willalso appreciate that the application of lateral forces (again, “lateral”being understood from the perspective of the user 16) is limited in thisscenario. In order to address this potential concern, another preferredembodiment of the present invention includes two lateral cables.

In this six-cable embodiment, left lateral cable 26 connects the leftanchor plate 21 to a drum attached to left lateral motor 36. Similarly,right lateral cable 30 connects the right anchor plate 21 to a drumattached to right lateral motor 42. The addition of these two lateralcables increases the directions in which the inventive system can applyforce to bar 18.

Each cable is connected to a drum on a motor. Each motor is controllablein terms of its angular position and the amount of torque it applies. Asan example, each motor may be a digitally controlled stepper motor. Eachdrum may include a helical groove that precisely guides the cable intoposition as the cable unwinds and rewinds with the motion of the bar andthe motor. In other embodiments each drum may include a bail mechanismwhich precisely guides the cable onto the drum. Each motor can beprecisely controlled in terms of its angular position from a fixedstarting point and the amount of torque it applies. As long as the cableis precisely guided on and off the drum, the angular position of thedrum can be translated into a precise amount of linear extension for thecable.

FIG. 2 depicts a plan view for force plate 14. It is helpful to know thelocation of the user's center of pressure and the amount of reactiveforce being exerted by the user on force plate 14. One approach togathering this information is the provision of a load cell 46 on eachcorner of the force plate. This load cell provides force information toa central processor.

FIG. 3 schematically depicts a simple data gathering and overall controlsystem for the invention of FIG. 1. Processor 48 can be mounted in thechassis or mounted separately—such as on a pedestal. The processoremployed may even be located in a separate computing device—such as atablet or notebook computer.

Each motor 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44 is provided with its own motorcontroller 50. The motor controller drives the motor to a desiredposition, velocity, and torque. Each motor controller also receivespositional information from an encoder on the motor itself. Processor 48sends data to each controller 50 giving desired position, velocity, andtorque. Each motor controller then provides local control of itsassociated motor to achieve those results.

The four load cells 46 also provide information to processor 48. Powersupply 52 is configured to provide power to the processor, the loadcells, and the motor controllers. A separate (higher current) powersupply may be used for the motors themselves.

The processor runs software configured to provide desired exercisefunctionality for the inventive device. Returning to FIG. 1, the systemmay be initiated to provide little to no resistive force. The user canlift bar 18 (which may only way 5-7 kg) to the position shown. However,once the exercise routine is activated, the six cables can apply forceconfigured to mimic the action of squatting a 100 kg mass. Therecreation of the characteristics of a free weight can be more complexthan simply the gravitational force. The system can also mimic thedynamic forces—such as the additional upward force needed to arrest thedownward momentum at the bottom of a squat.

The inventive system may also incorporate a counterweight arm configuredto hold the bar at a convenient height (such as 100 cm) without theaddition of any force. Such a device eliminates the need to lift the barfrom the top of force plate 14.

Using software running on the processor, the inventive device can domore than simply mimic the dynamics of free weights. The software candefine an arbitrary unloaded path which the user intuitively learns toguide the bar along. This unloaded path can aid in various therapies.FIG. 4 shows a side elevation view of the embodiment of FIG. 1. Definedforce object 54 represents an arbitrary path of least resistance definedby the software. The arrows indicate arbitrary forces that can beapplied as the user moves the bar along the dotted line.

The reactive forces measured by force plate 14 can be used in many ways.As an example, the processor can compute an instantaneous center ofpressure and compare its location to the user's boundary of balancestability (generally a polygon defining the geometric boundary of wherethe center of pressure can be without causing a loss of balance). If thecenter of pressure moves outside this polygon the processor canimmediately remove tension on all the cables so the user will not fall.

The invention preferably incorporates one or more of the followingfeatures:

1. The force plate can be a single plate or two separate foot plates.The data collected includes center of pressure and total force. This canbe presented to the user on a display.

2. For the embodiments having three cables per side, the invention canapply force in three dimensions.

3. Some embodiments may not include the sensing of force applied in eachcable. Rather, they can just sense the reactive forces on the forceplate and use this information to adjust the torque applied by eachmotor.

4. The invention can include a motion capture system configured tocapture the user's motion in real time. The user's motion can then bedisplayed to the user or a trainer.

5. A camera system can be included to record and play back video of theuser.

6. The invention can include a graphical user interface designed toallow the user to easily control and monitor the operation of thecomponents (such as on a standalone tablet).

7. The device can include interchangeable bars configured for use inspecific exercises. For example, the device might include one type ofbar for squats and another type of bar for curls. The device could eveninclude two separate grips rather than a single bar.

8. The device can provide an aerobic mode in which more rapid motionwith lighter loads is implemented.

9. The device can record precise data as to the position of the bar atall points during an exercise cycle.

10. The processor performs calculations to determine the preciseposition and torque for each drive motor many times per second.

11. The inventive system can provide a constant force over a very widerange of motion.

12. The inventive system can accurately mimic free weights while greatlyreducing the risk of injury.

13. The inventive system can mimic the action of eccentric overloadingexercise machines. The load can be varied in a much more complex fashionthan is possible using devices such as mechanical cams.

14. An additional resistive force can be added to limit speed of motionif desired.

15. Perturbation loading can be applied to create random or pseudorandom force disturbances.

16. Perturbation can be added to regular loads to assess the user'sbalance capabilities or to enhance them over time.

17. The processor can be configured to sense user fatigue and reduceload complexity as the exercise cycles continue.

18. Emergency release of all cable tension can be created by a userpressing a button or pulling a cord. Emergency release can also beproduced automatically—such as by detecting a loss of balance.

The preceding description contains significant detail regarding thenovel aspects of the present invention. It is should not be construed,however, as limiting the scope of the invention but rather as providingillustrations of the preferred embodiments of the invention. Thus, thescope of the invention should be fixed by the claims ultimatelypresented, rather than by the examples given.

Having described our invention, we claim:
 1. An exercise device for auser, comprising: (a) a chassis; (b) a bar, having an left end and aright end; (c) a left front motor driving a left front motor drum; (d) aleft front cable extending from said left front motor drum to said leftend of said bar; (e) a left rear motor driving a left rear motor drum;(f) a left rear cable extending from said left rear motor drum to saidleft end of said bar; (g) a right front motor driving a right frontmotor drum; (h) a right front cable extending from said right frontmotor drum to said right end of said bar; (i) a right rear motor drivinga right rear motor drum; (j) a right rear cable extending from saidright rear motor drum to said right end of said bar; (k) a controlsystem configured to produce a desired torque for each of said leftfront motor, said left rear motor, said right front motor, and saidright rear motor in order to apply a desired force to said bar; (l) aforce plate positioned beneath said user; (m) wherein said force plateis monitored by said control system in order to monitor a balance stateof said user; and (n) wherein said control system is configured toremove all loads on all cables in the event an unbalanced state of saiduser is detected.
 2. The exercise device as recited in claim 1, whereinsaid force plate is suspended on four load cells.
 3. The exercise deviceas recited in claim 2, wherein: (a) said four load cells are monitoredby said control system; and (b) said control system uses said load cellsto monitor said balance state of said user.
 4. The exercise device asrecited in claim 1, further comprising: (a) a left anchor plate on saidleft end of said bar; (b) a right anchor plate on said right end of saidbar; (c) wherein said left front cable and said left rear cable attachto said left anchor plate; and (d) wherein said right front cable andsaid right rear cable attach to said right anchor plate.
 5. The exercisedevice as recited in claim 1, further comprising: (a) a left lateralmotor driving a left lateral motor drum; (b) a left lateral cableextending from said left lateral motor drum to said left end of saidbar; (c) a right lateral motor driving a right lateral motor drum; and(d) a right lateral cable extending from said right lateral motor drumto said right end of said bar.
 6. The exercise device as recited inclaim 5, wherein said force plate is suspended on four load cells. 7.The exercise device as recited in claim 6, wherein: (a) said four loadcells are monitored by said control system; and (b) said control systemuses said load cells to monitor said balance state of said user.
 8. Theexercise device as recited in claim 5, further comprising: (a) a leftanchor plate on said left end of said bar; (b) a right anchor plate onsaid right end of said bar; (c) wherein said left front cable, said leftlateral cable, and said left rear cable attach To said left anchorplate; and (d) wherein said right front cable, said right lateral cable,and said right rear cable attach to said right anchor plate.
 9. Anexercise device for a user, comprising: (a) a bar, having an left endand a right end; (b) a left front motor mounted in a fixed position,driving a left front motor drum; (c) a left front cable extending fromsaid left front motor drum to said left end of said bar; (d) a left rearmotor mounted in a fixed position, driving a left rear motor drum; (e) aleft rear cable extending from said left rear motor drum to said leftend of said bar; (f) a right front motor mounted in a fixed position,driving a right front motor drum; (g) a right front cable extending fromsaid right front motor drum to said right end of said bar; (i) a rightrear motor mounted in a fixed position, driving a right rear motor drum;(h) a right rear cable extending from said right rear motor drum to saidright end of said bar; (i) a control system configured to produce adesired torque for each of said left front motor, said left rear motor,said right front motor, and said right rear motor in order to apply adesired force to said bar; (j) a force plate positioned beneath saiduser; (k) wherein said force plate is monitored by said control systemin order to monitor a balance state of said user; and (l) wherein saidcontrol system is configured to remove all loads on all cables in theevent an unbalanced state of said user is detected.
 10. The exercisedevice as recited in claim 9, wherein said force plate is suspended onfour load cells.
 11. The exercise device as recited in claim 10,wherein: (a) said four load cells are monitored by said control system;and (b) said control system uses said load cells to monitor said balancestate of said user.
 12. The exercise device as recited in claim 9,further comprising: (a) a left anchor plate on said left end of saidbar; (b) a right anchor plate on said right end of said bar; (c) whereinsaid left front cable and said left rear cable attach to said leftanchor plate; and (d) wherein said right front cable and said right rearcable attach to said right anchor plate.
 13. The exercise device asrecited in claim 9, further comprising: (a) a left lateral motor drivinga left lateral motor drum; (b) a left lateral cable extending from saidleft lateral motor drum to said left end of said bar; (c) a rightlateral motor driving a right lateral motor drum; and (d) a rightlateral cable extending from said right lateral motor drum to said rightend of said bar.
 14. The exercise device as recited in claim 13, whereinsaid force plate is suspended on four load cells.
 15. The exercisedevice as recited in claim 12, wherein: (a) said four load cells aremonitored by said control system; and (b) said control system uses saidload cells to monitor said balance state of said user.
 16. The exercisedevice as recited in claim 13, further comprising: (a) a left anchorplate on said left end of said bar; (b) a right anchor plate on saidright end of said bar; (c) wherein said left front cable, said leftlateral cable, and said left rear cable attach to said left anchorplate; and (d) wherein said right front cable, said right lateral cable,and said right rear cable attach to said right anchor plate.
 17. Theexercise device as recited in claim 1, wherein said control system isconfigured to create an unloaded path in the motion of said bar.
 18. Theexercise device as recited in claim 5, wherein said control system isconfigured to create an unloaded path in the motion of said bar.
 19. Theexercise device as recited in claim 9, wherein said control system isconfigured to create an unloaded path in the motion of said bar.
 20. Theexercise device as recited in claim 13, wherein said control system isconfigured to create an unloaded path in the motion of said bar.